This is the bass which opened my eyes to the world of Bacchus. Another U-box acquisition, I picked this up while I was waiting on the Hotwire to be built and is probably part of the reason why it was such a disappointment when it arrived. The Bacchus was better in every aspect, considerably better in fact.

Everything about this bass reeks of class. Construction and hardware is top-notch and the neck is quite slim for a five string. The fretwork is excellent so the action is low and buzz free. If you don’t like knicks and dinks, they’re not the bass for you, though. The oil finish marks easily and the bass looks older than its years. On the positive side, the wood isn’t entombed in plastic and can vibrate freely and it really projects the sound of the strings unplugged. Despite the body binding there is enough of a forearm contour to ensure it’s comfortable to play. Blocks and binding on an ebony board is always a winning idea too.

The only change I’ve made is to install a pickup blend pot instead of the traditional double volume setup, I just prefer vol-blend to vol-vol. The tone is an aggressive, modern J sound. It’s bright and focussed but with more than enough low end on tap for any job. You just know this bass will sound great every time, on every occasion. It has been used on blues and downtuned Metal with equal success. It’s got growl, it’s got warmth and it’s got a thunderous B string too.